Financial legacy:The web of property and investments in which Liam Lawlor was involved will have to be disentangled by his heirs in order to pay debts following his death.
It is not known if Mr Lawlor made a will, but if he did not, his wife will inherit two-thirds of his property, with the rest going to his children. If there is a will, the surviving spouse must receive a third of the estate.
Funeral and other expenses, debts and other liabilities, must first be met out of the estate, according to the 1965 Succession Act.
Any attempt in a will to protect an estate from having to meet such obligations is void under this Act.
Mr Lawlor had extensive debts, not least legal costs arising from his appearances before the Mahon tribunal.
If a spouse is living in the family home, it cannot be disposed of without his or her consent.
It appears that Mrs Lawlor co-owned the family home in Lucan, so this passes to her automatically as the sole surviving owner if it was held under a joint tenancy. Most property held jointly by spouses is held under joint tenancy.
If bank accounts were held in the joint names of Mr Lawlor and his wife or some or all of his children, with any of them entitled to draw from these accounts, the surviving signatories to the accounts would have full control over them without having to go to probate.
However, debts and liabilities will still have to be met.
The situation becomes even more complicated if property is held abroad. If it is "immovable property", that is, land, it is subject to local property and inheritance laws, which may well be different from Irish law.
This is why those buying property abroad are advised to make and register wills in those countries.